Snapchat users might actually be OK with ads

Social network Snapchat is expected to introduce news, video clips and advertisements to its news feeds, a move that its users may not entirely hate if they're presented in the right way, according to one tech expert.

"Generally speaking, users hate advertisements and distraction in the social media feeds. Users hate the concept, but if it is done well they will accept it," said Dan Costa, PCMag.com editor-in-chief, who adds that Facebook and Instagram have managed to prevent their ads from being too obtrusive.

SnapChat, which allows its users to post photos and videos that disappear within seconds, had about 27 million iPhone and Android app users in June, according to comScore estimates. And more than 700 million photos and videos are shared on the service every day, Costa notes.

"What we're looking at is Snapchat becoming more than just like a real-time disintegrating message service," Costa said.

"I think that the ephemeral nature of Snapchat is actually very convenient and conducive to news because you don't need to store that information, you don't need to store the advertisements you see. In a lot of ways it's very much like a broadcast model," Costa said.

But they're going to have to take a very light-handed approach to introducing news and ads in its feeds if the company wants to keep its users or even attract new ones to its service, Costa said.

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